No woman MLA on 8 seats in Rajasthan’s Hadoti region since 1952

Giving reasons for fewer women being elected MLAs in Rajasthan’s Hadoti region, former Ladpura MLA Poonam Goyal said that political parties only do lip service of giving tickets to women but actually do not give tickets to them.

rajasthan-electionsUpdated: Nov 02, 2018 09:16 IST

Aabshar H Quazi

Hindustan Times, Kota

Women MLA's in Rajasthan Assembly. There are eight assembly constituencies in the state’s Hadoti region from where no woman has been elected as legislator since Independence.(HT File Photo )

There are more than half-a-dozen assembly constituencies in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan where women have not been elected as legislator since Independence.

Since 1952 when the assembly elections were held for the first time, only 10 women have been elected to the state legislature from the region, which at present has 17 assembly seats. Prior to 2008, the year assembly constituencies were reframed in the country, the region had 18 assembly constituencies.

The elected women include chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who has been an MLA from Jhalarapatan (Jhalawar district) on BJP ticket thrice since 2003 and Chandrakanta Meghwal, who has been BJP MLA from Ramganjmandi (Kota) twice (2008 and 2013), Congress’ Mamta Sharma, who was elected twice from Bundi (1998 and 2003) and Nagendra Bala, who won from Chhabra (Baran) and Digod (Kota) in 1962 and 1972 respectively.

Among other women MLAS were Congress’ Nirmala Sahariya, who was elected from Kishanganj (Baran) in 2008, BJP’S Snehlata Arya, who was elected from Dug (Jhalawar) in 2003, Congress’ Poonam Goyal, Meenakshi Chandrawat and Rama Pilot, who were elected from Ladpura (Kota), Khanpur (Jhalawar) and Hindoli (Bundi) respectively in 1998 and Janata Party’s Narangi Devi, who was elected from Kishanganj in 1977.

There are eight assembly constituencies in the region from where no woman has been elected as legislator since Independence. These constituencies are Kota North, Kota South and Pipalda assembly constituencies of Kota district, Baran, Anta and Atru of Baran district, Manoharthana of Jhalawar district and Keshoraipatan of Bundi district. However, it is not that women candidates have not contested on these seats. There were many woman candidates who contested from the seat, but could not win.

Giving reasons for fewer women being elected MLAS in the Hadoti region, former Ladpura MLA Poonam Goyal said that political parties only do lip service of giving tickets to women but actually do not give tickets to them.

“It is a male-dominated society, which also reflects in political and democratic set-up,” she said.

The first woman mayor of Kota, Suman Shringi, who contested assembly elections in 2008 but lost, said that less representation to women has led to the demand for 33% reservation to women in politics.

“Approach and resources of women candidates are also limited, due to which their presence in politics is limited, as they do not have financial resources and also cannot move out freely like men,” she added.